Kerala Tourism enters into branding agreement with Mumbai Metro

Trivandrum: Commuters on the new Mumbai Metro can now experience the flavour of ‘God’s Own Country’ with a ‘Kerala Green Express’ running on the network under a branding agreement with the State Tourism Department. Kerala has become the first destination in the country to be associated with the newly-launched Mumbai Metro network.

The ‘Kerala Green Express’ began running on the Mumbai Metro’s Versova-Ghatkopar corridor from November 3 and will do so for the next three months. All the four coaches of the train will have images showing Kerala’s beautiful landscapes and greenery on the outside and inside.

The Mumbai Metro, which was launched in June this year, carries more than six lakh passengers every day. The ‘Kerala Green Express’ will travel a stretch of 11.07 km, passing through 12 elevated station on the Versova – Ghatkopar line. The entire journey between Versova and Ghatkopar takes 21 minutes to complete, with a train running every 3.5 minutes. All the coaches are air-conditioned, offering a comfortable travelling experience.

“We are proud to be associated with Mumbai’s brand new metro network,” said Kerala Tourism Minister, Shri A P Anil Kumar. “We are also privileged to be the first destination in India to promote tourism through the new metro in the country’s commercial capital.”

Kerala Tourism had earlier promoted its destinations on several iconic establishments like the famous London taxis and they had earlier done a campaign promotion wrapping Rajdhani train, on of the longest distance running train in India with Kerala images.

“With a mammoth number of people using the Mumbai metro every day, our association with the network will bring us close to the residents and visitors of the cosmopolitan city,” said Kerala Tourism Secretary, Suman Billa.

The branding in green colour includes wall panels and wall strips carrying messages such as ‘One of the 10 Paradises of the World’, a reference to the accolade bestowed on Kerala by the National Geographic Traveller.

“It is a prestigious association for us because the Mumbai Metro is fast emerging as an iconic feature of Mumbai,” said Kerala Tourism Director, P I Sheikh Pareeth.